Fake Love
by Lemonass
Summary: Naruto should've thought out the plan properly. NARUSAKU. One-shot. Please review my story and recommend ideas, it's my first fanfic, thanks!


Fake Love

Naruto was sitting on the park bench thinking. People knew he was serious when he had to actually 'think'. He usually dives in head first and thinking of the consequences later. It was a great habit of his. Well of course it would be, he was known as the Number One Most Unpredictable Ninja in the whole village. It made Naruto, Naruto. He had to devise a plan, fast. Tsunade has been pushing him to find his 'one and only' as she puts it. In other words, she has been trying to get Naruto to hook up with girls from the village, even going as far as hooking him up with girls from other villages. But Naruto knew better than that, he always looked underneath the underneath. Girls probably only admired him because of him being a war-hero and his of course good looks. He wanted someone real. Tsunade wanted to see Naruto get married and have children of his own before she dies. And it came to him, why not just lie to her about having a girlfriend? He was grinning like a mad-man about his idea. He knew the right person that he would do it with.

"No!" She replied hastily.

"Please Sakura-chan? We only have to pretend for a month and we can 'break up'. That old hag wouldn't shut up this! Just one favour I ask of you and nothing else. We'll act like it never happened in the first place!" Naruto persuaded, hoping it could work.

Naruto had fulfilled his promise to Sakura; to bring Sasuke back. He managed to do it and Sasuke turned over a new leaf, trying to see the world from another perspective. What surprised Naruto even more was that Sakura didn't love Sasuke anymore, stating that it was merely a crush. Naruto saved Sasuke from himself not only for Naruto's and Sasuke's sake but also for Sakura. Naruto was heartbroken when Sakura asked him to rescue Sasuke because Naruto loved her so much. He agreed because if he truly loved her, she would want to see her happy. Since she doesn't love Sasuke, Naruto took it as a second chance that heaven has bestowed upon him. There is still a chance to steal Sakura's heart.

"Fine, but only because we're best friends and we'll help each other. It better be over in a month, because if not, I'll punch you to the next life! I hope you thought this through Naruto, it better work," Naruto jumped up and down as if he'd won the lottery and gave Sakura a hug.

Both of them realised the fact that they were hugging and their cheeks started to heat up.

"I didn't mean that Sakura-chan, I'm So-" Naruto was interrupted with a flying uppercut to the jaw from Sakura.

It had been two days since Naruto had devised his 'genius' plan. Tsunade was back at the village after she had travelled to another village for a meeting, giving Naruto ample time to think his plan through and thoroughly. Naruto knew Tsunade had been spying on him, trying see if he'd actually get a date, or even better, be on a date. It was the perfect time to start 'Operation: Fake Love'. Naruto knew that Tsunade was on the rooftop with a telescope. A chill went down Naruto's spine after thinking about Tsunade spying on him. Tsunade had heard rumours of Naruto having a girlfriend from the villagers. She kind of felt guilty since she had expected Naruto to find a girlfriend by the time she was back in the village. She was sceptical but it was interesting. And she finally spotted Naruto, walking down the streets, hands intertwined with none other than Sakura. Tsunade was genuinely happy for that idiot. Even the villagers were on her side, all of them cheering and the women incredibly envious of Sakura. Both of them were obviously blushing but also guilty. They wanted it to end as soon as possible even though they wanted it to last forever. Sakura knew that Naruto loved her, but she was very doubtful after years of making him wait and for all she knew, Naruto might have moved on. She finally loved him, after realising that Sasuke was just a stupid crush, she now saw that Naruto had always been her stepping stone, catching her before she falls. He was her brightest light in the darkest day and her shelter in the heaviest rain. He was always there. But she was too scared of confessing her feelings for the blonde, she didn't want to get rejected and was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of him. But to Naruto, Sakura was the prettiest flower in the garden and was definitely worth it. But is it possible to get her?

They were on a 'date' and Naruto knew that Tsunade was definitely spying on him. It was just like any other time that the both of them would spend together, Naruto embarrassing himself, Sakura punching him and nagging at him and Naruto constantly apologizing. But today, a few more thing were added to their collection, every time they talked, they would stare at each other's eyes. And failing to look away, as if falling in an inescapable abyss. They would also blush madly at the slightest brush of each other's hands. They wouldn't want their 'date' to end, not even for the world. But the setting sun and the dark sky approaching was inevitable. It was time for their 'date' to end. Naruto paid for the dinner even after Sakura insisting that she pays for her meal.

"Naruto, I will pay for my meal, I insist. I know that it's not even a real date but still, I don't want to be treated like a queen," Sakura said.

"It's okay, I have the money and I want to pay for it, it's a way of saying thank you for doing me a favour," Naruto argued. The cashier was annoyed, telling them to hurry up. But it wasn't working.

"I'll pay for mine Naruto"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Hey look, a unicorn!" Naruto pointed and Sakura turned. He slyly hands the cashier his credit card and paid for the meal.

"You idiot! You tricked me!" Sakura lightly hit him on the shoulder.

She honestly found Naruto cute and romantic with hints of his contagious humour, why did she ignored this amazing man? Oh yes, she 'loved' Sasuke.

They were on their way back to Sakura's house laughing after Naruto had accidentally scared an old woman, thinking it had been Sakura.

"Did you see her face? She looked like she saw a ghost!" Naruto said in between his pants after laughing hysterically.

"You're so mean Naruto! If that was really me, I would have made sure you won't wake up again!" She scolded, even though she was also laughing along with Naruto. She had to admit, it was very funny. But everything had to come to an end, they had reached her house.

"It'll be over in only three more weeks Sakura-chan, then it'll as if it never happened. Don't worry," Naruto said, giving her a thumbs up.

"Yeah, it will" She reluctantly replied, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Both of them left each other's sights with a sad smile.

"I'm not worried about us being together, I'm worried about us not being together," she muttered under her breath before closing her apartment door.

The next morning, Tsunade had called in Naruto for an important meeting and Naruto quickly rushed to her office. Just to find out it wasn't as important as she said it was.

"Congratulations Naruto! I'm so proud of you for finally getting her as your girlfriend. I've seen the way she looks at you and now you're finally together with her!" She jumped on Naruto and showered him with kisses like a mother would.

"Please stop it, I'm suffering here"

Naruto gave her a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head, feeling guilty for lying to her. Naruto told her that he would have a 'date' with Sakura the following day since Tsunade had been begging for him to tell.

Naruto had gotten dressed for the 'date' with Sakura. Today, they would be going to the 'Annual Konoha Festival' where only couples were allowed in the festival. Naruto and Sakura used this as a perfect opportunity to enter the festival since they had wanted to go in since they were twelve. And Naruto knew Tsunade was spying on their 'date'. Naruto and Sakura were killing two birds with one stone. Maybe this 'date' wasn't so bad after all. They were enjoying each other's company, they would participate in a unforgettable game. One person had to sit on a chair that was held by a wooden pole, and the other person would have to throw a ball at a target and the person sitting would be dropped and plunged into the small pool. Naruto volunteered as the person that would get plunged into the pool and Sakura would be the one to throw the ball. Since they were ninja with great throwing accuracy, Sakura had to throw the ball blind-folded. To Naruto's dismay, the ball had hit the target and he was plunged into the pool. Naruto had been given a towel to dry himself and Sakura wasn't helping, she had been boasting about how awesome she was.

"You're always amazing Sakura-chan," Naruto said softly, barely audible.

"Aww did my Naruto get wet? I'm sorry I'm so awesome," Sakura boasted, and planted a kiss on Naruto's cheek. He deserved it.

Naruto quickly turned red and touched his cheek, as if he dreamt that it had happened. Sakura too, was blushing. They had came across a shooting game that Naruto had won and got to choose a prize.

"Hey look what I got you Sakura-chan! It's a cute brown teddy bear," It would had been nice, but it was as big as their torso. It had the words 'My one and only' embedded into the stomach area of the teddy bear.

"This is so cute Naruto! Thank you!" Sakura was so shocked that although Naruto is and always be an idiot, his gestures make him romantic.

They wanted to remember this moment dearly, and Sakura had just the thing to do so. She took out her polaroid camera and asked a stranger that happened to pass by to take a picture of them. One of the pictures had Sakura hugging the teddy bear and Naruto putting his left arm around Sakura's shoulder, bringing her closer. They both made a 'peace' sign and smiled for the photo. The second picture, Sakura was hugging the teddy bear while resting her head on Naruto's shoulder and Naruto's left arm wrapped around her waist while his right hand made a 'peace' sign. Naruto took the first picture and Sakura took the second picture. A perfect way to end a perfect night. But, it was sad that they both had to convince themselves that their 'date' and taking the pictures were just a way to convince Tsunade that they were together. It wasn't a great plan after all.

They had decided that they would go out on a 'date' every week, and they only had two weeks left, which meant that they only had two dates left. They would spend their days in between their next date by spending time together at Sakura's house. That was the only place where Naruto knew Tsunade wouldn't spy on. Sakura would cook Naruto dinner and force Naruto not to eat Ramen and eat healthy for once. Naruto enjoyed her cooking.

"As long as you're cooking, I wouldn't mind eating your food all day long," Naruto said lovingly. Sakura had to smile sweetly at his comment.

Naruto would also buy one or two tubs of ice-cream before heading to her house. They would watch Netflix together and feast on ice-cream at night. Naruto loved horror movies, he didn't like getting scared, but he likes when Sakura would latch on Naruto's shoulder. She was trying to hide herself from the tv screen. She would even hug Naruto whenever she got scared. His presence seemed to always soothe her. They were getting closer than they planned to. Naruto would often sleep at Sakura's house. Since she usually slept on Naruto's shoulder after the movies and the slightest movement would wake her up. But Naruto would be gone before she woke up.

It was their third 'date', they wanted to do something nice for Tsunade since was today. They wanted to bake a cake together. When you put an idiot and an angry woman together, who knows what kind of cake you'll get. Well they are going to find out.

"Hey Sakura-chan, I'm ready to bake the cake!" Naruto shouted as he came in Sakura's apartment.

"Relax Naruto, where's the ingredients I told you to buy? You forgot didn't you?" Sakura asked with annoyance tingling in the tone of her voice.

"Uhm you see, there was an old woman that needed to carry her items so I hel-" Naruto was cut-off with a raging fist that connected to his face.

"Liar! Get out and get the ingredients, now!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Yes ma'am!" Naruto replied before bolting out the door

After Naruto got the ingredients, they were finally ready to bake. Sakura had prepared the ingredients and the cook book was neatly places in front of her and Naruto. They were planning on baking a Red Velvet Cake. Naruto, being an idiot like always was, carried the flour above his head and started to shake it, thinking it wasn't going to tear and unfortunately, it did and he was now covered in flour.

"You idiot! Didn't you know that was a bad idea?" she scolded, as if scolding a child.

All Naruto did was pout and made the puppy-eyes, hoping to calm Sakura down.

"I hate it when he does that, I can't stay mad at him forever," Sakura rolled her eyes and wiped off the flour from Naruto's face.

Naruto then cupped the flour he collected and threw it at Sakura's face, which only made her angrier. Sakura then threw more flour at Naruto, making their kitchen a mess. Naruto saw this as a great moment and took Sakura's polaroid. He then headed to the kitchen and wanted to take a picture of themselves. Naruto held out the camera and pointed the camera towards them. Naruto rested his head on Sakura's shoulder smiling wildly and Sakura rolling her eyes.

"Say cheese!"

They finally baked the cake and went straight to the Hokage Tower giggling to themselves. They knocked and was given the permission to enter.

"What the heck did you do to yourselves?" Tsunade questioned, seeing that they were covered in flour from head to toe.

"Happy birthday Obaa-chan!" Naruto wished.

"Happy birthday Tsunade-sama!" Sakura said.

"I'm flattered, and Naruto, stop calling me that! I'm not that old!" Tsunade thanked.

Tsunade tasted the cake and realised that it tasted great. She wasn't even expecting it to even be edible but they pulled through.

"This tastes amazing! Thank you!"

"No problem obaa-chan!" Naruto replied, grinning from ear to ear.

They were now on the way back to Sakura's house and opted for watching a comedic instead, a way to end a great day. They washed up and continued with their movie.

"Time sure does fly doesn't it, Sakura-chan? It's already our last 'date' before we 'break up'," Naruto said, with a sad smile.

"It sure does, lets enjoy our last 'date'," Sakura replied, also with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

They decided that a simple picnic would be nice. They both brought food to share with each other, and this time, Naruto didn't bring Ramen. Naruto took Sakura's polaroid camera and snapped a picture of them sitting together, side by side, with Naruto resting his arm around Sakura's shoulder and both of them smiling. It was a nice picture, another picture that Sakura could add to her collection, with the other photos of both of them together. She would treasure this moment. And of course, the picnic was over and it was time to say their goodbyes.

"Sakura-chan, I enjoyed our 'dates' together and although I wouldn't mind more, a deal's a deal. This is where we part ways, we'll remain as friends and act as if this never happened, right? I also want you to know that I love you so much, and I know that you don't feel the same way about me but its okay," Naruto said, regretting this plan.

"Is it weird that I really don't want our 'dates' to end? I love it so much because I love you too," Sakura said while tears began forming at the corners of her eyes.

Then it happened, they kissed. It seemed like an eternity, both not wanting this to end. Then, they heard a click, a shutter of a camera to be exact. And it was Tsunade, peeking from the bushes and giggling to herself at how sweet the moment was. Tsunade knew they had a collection of photos together, but none of it was the picture of them kissing. She decided to give it to them and head off to the Hokage Tower, duty calls. Naruto was glad she knew Tsunade.

"Maybe it doesn't have to end," Sakura said, her arms still around Naruto.

Naruto gave Sakura a quick peck on the lips and decided to pack up.

"Want to do something else?" Naruto asked, and managed a smirk.

"Let's get out of here," Sakura said, holding Naruto's hands and dragging him towards her house, maybe it's _their_ house now.

Maybe 'Operation: Fake Love' wasn't so fake after all.


End file.
